Spring construction and method of making same



Nov. 22, 1932. O. HETHERINGTON 1,833,666

SPRING CONSTRUCTION'AND METHOD OF MAKING SAME Filed May 13. 1950 2Sheets-Sheet 1 /0 7 l4 f f okz /2 INVENTOR. 04/145,? figs; 7f/E'fF/IV67.0m

SPRING CONSTRUCTION AND ME IHOD OF MAKING SAME Filed May 13, 1930 2Sheets-Sheet 2 2' Z W M f l INVENTOR. 601/5? fzs-rmsrw/va 70/1 vATTORNEY.

Patented Nov. 22, 1932 UNITED STATES SPRINGS, INCORPORATED, 0]? OFPENNSYLVANIA PATENT OFFICE OLIVER HETHFiRINGTON, OF WEST CHESTER,PENNSYLVANIA, ASSIGNOR TO PEERLESS wnsr CHESTER, PENNSYLVANIA, ACORPORATION SPRING CONSTRUCTION AND METHOD OF MAKING SAME Applicationfiled May 13, 1930. Serial No. 451,893. U D

This invention, generally stated, relates to a spring mat or cushioninsert for upholstered articles as mattresses, motor car seats,furniture and the like, and has more particular relation to the manner.of assembling the coiled springs therein.

One object of the present invention is to connect the coiled springsboth longitudinally and transversely considered so that tangling of thecoils is prevented, thereby to maintain the same in their originalposition in the unit without destroying, however, a maximum degree offlexibility in folding or rolling of the unit.

Another object is to provide a spring mat or cushion of the characterstated wherein the coils are maintained sufiiciently secure againstslippage with respect to one another to prevent rattling or similarnoises without, however, destroying the greatest possible degree offlexibility.

A further object of the present invention is to provide a spring mat orcushion of the character stated in which a row of coiled springs may betied together one with another longitudinallyconsidered at theiroverlapped tops and bottoms and in which adjacent coils laterallyconsidered may have their overlapped tops and bottoms tied or clampedtogether to provide a s ring tension connection which, while posit velyholding the coils together against slippage, permits of a relativehinge-like action.

Other and further objects of the present in vention reside in theprovision of general details of construction and in the arrangement,combination, and connection of parts for attaining the results sought bythe foregoing objects. a

The invention consists of the novel con struction hereinafter describedand finally claimed. In the drawings:

Fig. 1 is a horizontal sectional plan view of a spring mat or cushionembodying the invention and taken npon'the line 11 of Fig. 2, looking inthe direction of the arrows;

Fig. 2 is a longitudinal sectional view of a'spring mat or cushionembodying the invention and taken upon the line 22 of Fig. 1, looking inthe direction of the arrows;

Fig. 3 is a fragmentary view in plan, drawnto an enlarged scale, of oneof the coil fastenings shown-in Fig. 1;

. Fig. 4 is a view in elevation of Fig. 3;

Fig. 5 illustrates in elevation one of the tie pieces shown in theforegoing figures prior to being bent to form;

Fig. 6 is a top or plan View of a slightly modified form of coilarrangement going to make up a mat or cushion embodying the invention;

Fig. 7 is a fragmentary view in plan drawn to an enlarged scaleillustrating a modified form of tie piece;

Fig. 8 is a view in elevation of Fig. 7;

Fig. 9 is a view in elevation of the tie piece shown in Figs 7 and 8prior to being bent to form;

' Fig. 10 is a fragmentary View in plan drawn to an enlarged scale of astill further modifiedform of tie piece;

Fig. 11 is a view in elevation of Fig. 10;

Fig. 12 is a View in elevation of the tie piece shown in Figs. 10 and llprior to being bent to form;

Figs. 13 is a top or plan view of a pair of goils clamped together bymeans of a clip; an

Fig. 14.- is a cross-sectional view of Fig. 13.

For the purpose of illustrating my invention I have shown in theaccompanying drawings several forms thereof which are at presentpreferred by me, since the same have been found in practice to givesatisfactory and reliable results, although it is to be understood thatthe various instrumentalities of which my invention consists can" that atight, non-slipping connection is same as that just described with theexcep-- formed, yet -providing a hinge-like 'oint to provide maximumflexibility. The ree end of a coil is tied to the upper convolution ofan adjacent spring 10 and likewise the lower adjacent convolutions ofsprings are srmilarly tied together. The connection 11 ust referred tomay be described as being a crimped knot, and the spring convolutionsboth upper and lower are in difi'erent planes than are the knotsthemselves. There is provided a construction devoid of continuous,connecting or spacing members, either rigid or flexible, but rather aconstruction depending on a unique form of wire-tie passed pref- -erablydiagonally through the overlapped portions of the top and bottomconvolutions of the coil springs and with the free ends wound aroundsaid top and bottom convolutions outside the overlapped portions to secure spacing and connection both laterally and transversely, orlaterally or transversely only, in both of which cases spacing andconnection in the remaining direction is attained by knotting with acrimped knot the top and bottom spring ends to the top and hot 1 tomconvolutions of an adjacent spring. As shown in said figure, there aretwo such rows, although thenumber of rows depends upon the size ofspring mat or cushion to be made.

Adjacent rows of coiled springs are tied together transversely so thatthe top and bottom coils of the springs are secured together inoverlapped position.- This is clearly illustrated in detail in Figs. 3and 4:. Referring to these figures, and Fig. 5, the reference numeral 12designates a strand of wire which per and lower-concentric coils at theover,

I wrap around the overlapped upper and lower coils of the springs 10 inspaced rela-- tion to form ring-like parts 13. That portion 40 of thewire 12 between the ring-like parts 13 is passed upwardly through thespace formed between the overlapped springs 10 by bending the wire 12first upwardly as at 14 and then downwardly as at 15, see Fig. 4. Thisforms a tight clamping of parts yet forms a hinge-like connection topermit of maximum flexibility of the mat or cushion. The referencenumeral 16 designates a cover for the springs 10.

In Fig. 6 the construction of parts is the tion that instead of tyingtogether the springs 10 in rows as at 11 of the same material formin thesprings, I employ a se arate piece 0 wire as shown in Fig. 5 an bend thesame in identically the same manner to form a tie connection as employedin the transverse connection of springs and the same reference numeraldesignates the same arrangement of parts in each instance. Thus, insteadof having connected rows of coils .10, connected groups ofindividualcoils are provided. j Referring now to Figs. 7, 8, and 9instead of employing thetie wire 12 as shownin bend over said arms 17and thereafter further bend the terminals 18 of said arms 17 inparallelism, as shown by dotted lines in Fig. 9 so that the overlappedportions of the springs 10 are securely clamped together as shown inFigs. 7 and 8.

Referring now to Figs. 10, 11, and 12, I employ a substantially invertedU-shaped clip instead of the clip just described. The arms 19 of thisclip have extensions 20 extended toward one another and bent U-shapedfashion as at 21, see Fig. 12. In practice the overlapped portions ofthe springs 10 both at their tops and bottoms have projectedtherebetween a clip of this character and theterminals of said arms 19bent toward one another, at an inclination as shown by dotted springs 10are clamped together by means of a fiat metal strip 22, the terminals 23of which I 1 are bent around-the springs 10 both at their tops andbottoms. It will be understood that these strips 22, as well as thedevices shown in Figs. 9 and '12, may be applied to the springs 10 inthe manner of tying the springs together as shown in either Figs. 1 or6. In general, any of the methods of independent tying depicted may beused in tying the uplapped position but in particular, claim is made forthe method of passing a wire preferably diagonally through theoverlapped portion which is not distorted and winding it around bothadjacent coils outside of the overlapped section in such a manner as toproduce a hinge-joint giving an easy and free hinge action, and at thesame time tightly enoughto produce sufficient tension whereby theadjacent coils of the spring mat or cushion tend-to return to a positionsubstantially in the same plane after being forced from it by pressureor flexure or otherwise moving the spring structure.

lVhat I claim is:

1. A self supporting spring cushion or mat consisting of spiral springsthe upper and lower adjacentcoils of which overlap, awire arrangeddiagonally through said overlapped portions the respective ends ofsaiddiagonal wire being wound around said adjacent coils to provide ahinge-joint. I

2. A self supporting spring cushion'or mat comprising a grou directionbeing tied together to also provide a hinge-joint.

OLIVER HETHERINGTON.

